Diseased vein grafts express elevated inflammatory cytokine levels compared with atherosclerotic coronary arteries Jan Felix Christiansen, MD, Dirk Hartwig, MD, J.F.Matthias Bechtel, MD, Harald Klüter, MD, Hans- H Sievers, MD, Uwe Schönbeck, PhD, Claus Bartels, MD The Annals of Thoracic Surgery Volume 77, Issue 5, Pages 1575-1579 (May 2004) DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2003.10.107
Fig 1 Content of mRNA copies of each cytokine. Values are given in ln (1×106 copies of mRNA expression of each cytokine). Dark shaded bars = nondiseased, native saphenous vein group; medium-shaded bars = atherosclerotic coronary artery disease group; light shaded bars = diseased vein graft group. (IL-1 = interleukin-1; IL-6 = interleukin-6; IL-8 = interleukin-8; INF-γ = interferon-gamma; TNF-α = tumor necrosis factor-alpha.) The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2004 77, 1575-1579DOI: (10.1016/j.athoracsur.2003.10.107)
Fig 2 Immunostaining for C-reactive protein in a diseased coronary artery (100-fold magnified). Neointima formation reveals massive proliferation of foam cells and spindlelike smooth muscle cells. Cytoplasmic C-reactive protein immunoreactivity is limited to smooth muscle cells of the neo-intima and the media. Adventitial tissue reveals only little staining. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2004 77, 1575-1579DOI: (10.1016/j.athoracsur.2003.10.107)